Can I buy a subscription card to get G.O.L.D and Home on Freeview?

No. Let us explain why…

Until 2007, a company called Top Up TV sold a subscription service where if you had a suitable Freeview box, you could pay £7.99 a month and get 11 extra subscription channels using a special viewing card.

It all changed in 2007, when Top Up TV brought in a new service, Top Up TV Anytime. Instead of showing 11 extra channels, they now supply a special set-top box that has a built-in recorder. Overnight, Top Up TV sends a collection of TV shows over-the-air that your box records for you watch over the next seven days.

To get Top Up TV Anytime, you’ll need to buy a special Top Up TV Anytime box. This will give you 100 hours of extra shows per week. You can also get a box and subscription direct from topuptv.com – The box costs £70 (or £40 for a reconditioned box). You can also get Top Up TV Anytime boxes from Argos and Amazon.

As well as the downloaded TV shows, you’ll be able to access a very limited number of hours of live TV, currently:

Channel 17 – G.O.L.D (6pm – 11:30pm)

Channel 26 – Home (2pm – 4pm)

Channel 34 – ESPN Sport (Extra subscription needed)

Channel 41 – Sky Sports 1 (Extra subscription needed)

Channel 42 – Sky Sports 2 (Extra subscription needed)

The Top Up TV Anytime box

Can I get GOLD and Home on Freeview?

The only way to get these channels on Freeview is to buy a Top Up TV Anytime box. Even then, you only get a few hours of those channels a day.

If you want these channels, consider a different TV service, such as:

Sky Digital: Widest choice of channels. Received with satellite dish and set-top box.See our Sky page or go to www.sky.com/shop.

Virgin Media: Available to parts of the UK via underground cabling and a Cable TV set-top box.See our Cable TV page, or go to www.virginmedia.com